Fly Fishing Garrett County, MD

14 May 2011 Fly Fishing Garrett County, MD

Based out of the Wilderness Voyageurs store in Friendsville, MD a group of friends were out to fish Garrett County’s finest Trout Streams. Too much rain recently so the Casselman, Upper Yough, Savage, and North Branch of the Potomac rivers were all high and off color on Friday. Fortunately, Western Maryland has many other fly fishing options.

Native brook trout streams are almost too numerous to mention. For those of you with an adventurous spirit and a good map they are easy to find. Beautiful spring fed streams, cold clear and full of water. We fished these streams for two days. Nine to twelve inch trout were the “big ones” but their beauty made size insignificant. There is no need to match the hatch with these fish. Their aggressive nature makes any properly presented dry or nymph a likely meal. A stealthy approach is theonly other thing you’ll need. On a 2, 3, or 4 weight rod these fish are a hoot to catch!

WE cant tell you exactly where this came from

By Sunday the big rivers were clearing. Still in our exploratory mode we fished the Upper North Branch of the Potomac above the reservoir. This stretch of river lies in a picturesque hard wood valley. There are two catch and release delayed harvest stretches. It fished well for everyone. We caught trout to 15” on a variety of nymphs and streamers.

We made a stop at the Casselman River in Grantsville on the way home. The trout were many and large! We even enjoyed some dry fly action using spent little black stones.

A 3 day non-resident Maryland license costs well worth it considering the numerous excellent fishing options just 20 – 60 minutes from our stores. Stop in at Wilderness Voyageurs in Ohiopyle, PA on Garrett Street or the Friendsville, MD store at 276 Maple street for directions and fishing information for these streams.